Arsenal Vs. AC Milan: Gunners Have Much to Play for Despite Hopeless Odds

Yes, the odds of Arsenal overcoming a four-goal deficit in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match against AC Milan are slim to none.

But that doesn't mean that Arsenal have nothing to play for.

Yes, there is always pride—certainly, Arsenal doesn't want to be embarrassed like they were when AC Milan beat them, 4-0, in February—but there is also momentum.

The Gunners are coming off of two vital victories in Premier League play, having beaten Tottenham, 5-2, and Liverpool, 2-1. And as they head into the home stretch of EPL play, surely, they want to maintain that momentum.

The squad currently sits fourth in the Premier League, three points in front of Chelsea and five points ahead of Newcastle. Things will get very interesting down the stretch for the Gunners.

So even if they can't beat AC Milan by a four-goal margin or greater, a decisive victory—or even a strong showing and close victory—is important for the squad's confidence going forward.

And let us dream for a moment—there's always the slim chance that Milan will come out flat and the Gunners can pull off the shocker.

AC Milan have given up huge leads before. Considering the following from ESPN:

"Milan, though, somehow managed to go out to Deportivo La Coruna in the 2003/04 quarter-finals having won 4-1 at home, losing the second leg in Spain 4-0."

They've had their difficulties against EPL squads in the past as well:

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On the past failings of Milan to hold onto leads - including a famous second-half capitulation when leading 3-0 against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final, Allegri said: "Those negative happenings must help us to take the right approach.

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And for what it's worth, Arsenal can score in bursts on occasion—they've accumulated four or more goals in a match four times this season. You never know what can happen out on the pitch.

So yes, advancing to the semifinals of the Champions League seems unlikely. But one way or another, Arsenal have bigger fish to fry this season and can't afford a momentum-halting loss to AC Milan.

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